For the parents and teachers of the Low-Cost Housing Estate Primary School II, Lateef Jakande Estate, Oke-Afa, Isolo, Lagos, the atmosphere under which their children and pupils learn is most unbefitting of a mega city that is aspiring to become smart as the buildings are in a dilapidated state.
The school, with a population of about 900 pupils, has most of its roofs blown off and its fence in ruins. We gathered that the one-storey building and the extension had not been renovated since they were constructed in 1986.
One of the teachers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said efforts to get the government to renovate the school had not yielded any result.
The teacher said, “The situation of things right now is that there is no roof covering the school building. We have abandoned three classes on the first floor and we are managing with only one classroom; we always move the pupils elsewhere whenever it rains.
“The primary five and six are the ones on the first floor but we had to merge the classes to accommodate primary five on the ground floor, but the primary six pupils are still upstairs, learning in the sun. The attachment is where the teachers’ offices are and the roof is bad too.
“When we resumed classes in January, we saw that the school had been vandalised by hoodlums, who carted away all valuables left. It is our Parents’ Forum that has been contributing money for us to employ a security guard to keep watch over what is left.
“It’s the fence that was done in 1986, when the school was established, that we still have there till today. No form of maintenance or renovation has been done ever since. The school now has more than five entry points because the fence has collapsed in different places.
“We have written to the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board on several occasions through the Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Education Authority, but nothing has been done. We plead for government’s intervention on the matter.”
Another teacher said the previous head teacher tried to fix the roofs but stopped due to lack of funds.
The teacher said, “The former head teacher really tried, because before the roofs got this bad, she spent her money to fix them. She even got a loan from the cooperative society for the purpose, but it was beyond her means. There was a time that the carpenter that she employed fell from the roof, while fixing it and it took him more than three months to recover. So, she had to stop.
“The new head teacher has had to provide the things she is using in her office on her own. Anytime I am coming to work, I am not always happy. I always feel pity for the children, because the environment is not conducive for learning. We have written a series of letters to the government, but the copies of the letters have been destroyed by rain.”
The Chairman, Parents’ Forum of the school, Mr Abayomi Olufowokan, said the pupils would do better academically if they had better learning conditions.
He stated, “The school structures are old; the roofs are off and the chairs are bad. No care whatsoever for the school by the government.
“A new fence needs to be erected because the structure has been collapsing and we have been trying to patch it. During the last holiday, thieves came in and stole the properties of the school; the head teacher’s office was emptied.
“We’ve been managing to make the place as conducive as possible for the pupils and they are also trying their best. The school once had one of the best results in Lagos State at the primary school level. If they get better learning conditions, they will do better.”
A top official of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, who pleaded not to be identified, said the renovation of schools was not the responsibility of the board alone, adding that no capital project could be carried out until the state government’s budget was passed.
The official said, “It is not just the board that is involved in the renovation of schools.
“It is a procedural thing and we also have to obtain approval from Abuja. It is public fund and before you can access the fund, you must be able to account for the one that has been given before.
“Also, as of now, the budget has not been passed and you can’t execute any capital project until the budget is passed.”
When the Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, Ademuyiwa Akitoye, was contacted, he said the school was receiving attention from the government.
“The school has been receiving attention from the government; we cannot neglect or abandon our schools. There may be a little delay here and there but definitely, there is no school in Lagos State that will be neglected or abandoned by the government,” he stated. Punch
